Gulf expats shop for second homes, safe haven in Europe

Expats in the Middle East are shopping for second homes in Europe and paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for second passports as the Iran war fuels safety concerns and drives demand for stable overseas assets.

Hotspots for house-shoppers include London, Paris, Geneva and Monaco, which are seeing increased interest from expats living in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, Bloomberg reports.

Buyers are focusing on prime, ready-to-move-in properties and working through family offices and brokers to secure residences quickly, with some shifting funds out of the region as security risks rise and travel patterns change. 

In parallel, demand from UAE expats for passports from other countries has increased since the start of the war, Arabian Gulf Business Insight reports. It cites an Indian-Arab family of four that secured citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis under a government program that charged about $270,000.

Meanwhile, U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is seeking to attract expats from the Gulf by promoting Britain as a safe haven and repairing relationships strained by recent tax changes, The Financial Times reports. She plans to revisit tax rules that currently risk double taxation on income from U.S. LLCs for those relocating to the U.K., according to the FT.

Saudi Arabia to saddle all its camels with their own ‘passport’

Every camel in Saudi Arabia will soon be issued its own “passport.”

The ID documents will include each camel’s name, date and place of birth, breed, gender, coloring, place of issuance and microchip number, as well as photographs of the animal to ensure ease of identification, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture said in a directive circulated on Tuesday.

The initiative is aimed at organizing the camel sector to improve market efficiency and confidence.

It is also expected to increase the market value of Saudi Arabia’s camels at local and international auctions.